4.5 Assignment Five

Information about this assignment (#5: Retrospective Paper on Learning) will be posted on this wiki page after the fifth Wimba session scheduled on November 7, Wednesday.

Guidelines for Completing your Retrospective Paper

Due Date ~ Please check the course schedule.

The questions below will guide you in writing this retrospective paper on your course experience.

1. Please write a response of at least a paragraph or two for each key question. Make sure that you adhere to the writing protocol required in this course. Also, I highly suggest that you block a time that is free from distractions when completing this assignment. This will allow you the time and space to be more reflective about your course experience.

Question 1: Describe and reflect on how the projects (your choice – online discussions not included) made an IMPACT on your thinking about developing resources for children and young adults? Related questions that you may also address in this section –

• What is significant about these projects?

• What was your initial thinking when presented by the expectations and requirements of these projects?

• How did your thinking about these projects change in the course of completing them?

• What new questions do you have about your own teaching practices, technology integration, and student learning after completing these projects?

• How different are these projects from each other?

Question 2: Describe and reflect on how did the CourseDen online discussion activities (identify a specific one if you must) make an IMPACT on your thinking about developing resources for children and young adults? Related questions that you may also address in this section –

• What was your significant contribution to the preparation and completion of each discussion?

• What specific materials or expertise did you contribute to each discussion that your class engaged in?

• What specific roles did you take in each discussion?

• Looking back, how could you improve your role in each of the discussion you completed?

• Which of the online discussions stood out for you and why?

• What have you learned about yourself as a group member?

Question 3: When you think and reflect on this course, what positive values did you learn (acquire) or experience that are supportive of your growth and development as a professional?

Question 4: If others asked you what you learned from this course, what would you tell them in terms of the knowledge/content, skills/applications, and attitudes/dispositions that you acquired? (Make sure you addressed each one in a paragraph or two)

Question 5: What aspects of the online collaboration did you find challenging and how did you manage them? What aspects did you find rewarding? What types of resources did you use?

Question 6: What have you learned about yourself as learner (and as online learner) at the end of the course experience? What aspects of this course were most useful to your own future success as a learner (future teacher or individual)? What aspects of this course were most helpful?

Question 7: Which projects or assignments SHOULD future students complete in this course and why? How can we better prepare students who will be taking a similar course (process and outcomes) in the future? What will you tell them about this course?

Question 8: What “surprise” you about this course experience? What are your “take aways”? What is your “AHA” experience (positive) in this course that you will always remember?

Question 9: Imagine for a moment that you are asked to teach this course next school year. What aspects of our class will you “borrow” to develop the curriculum for graduate students? How will you make your class more interesting, challenging, educational, and fun given the typical characteristics of your students? What things will you modify given what we did? What things will you propose to implement that are new? Please note that answers similar to "I would not change a thing" are unacceptable and will be given zero credit.

Question 10: Write at least a 100-word narrative on your contribution to Assignment 4 completion (Maximum: 250 words). Also, in this narrative, please describe how you will distribute 100 points given the work done or contribution of each group member including yourself.Nobody in the group should received more than 50 points if there are more than 2 members. Nobody in the group should receive more than 80 points if there are only two members. Be as candid as you can in writing this section.

Question 11: Early in this course, you have learned to create visual maps. Without using any of the technology you learned from this course, please create manually a visual map of your own "academic journey" based on your retrospective paper plus other things you find relevant in capturing your own personal and professional growth and development.

• Use a 81/2 X 11 white paper

• Use at least 3-4 levels wide and 4-5 levels deep for your visual map

• Draw pictures or use images

• Use colors from any source

• Be creative, elaborate and complex

• Once completed, scan the visual map as jpg and pdf files and submit them together with your retrospective paper.

2. All writing and filenaming protocols apply. Submission should be uploaded on the assigned drop box.

Assessment of Student Performance